LITTLE ROCK  An Arkansas senator proposing to ban most abortions in the state says he's changing his bill to prohibit the procedure only if a fetal heartbeat is detected using an abdominal ultrasound.

Republican Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway told reporters Tuesday he's amending his "heartbeat" bill to address concerns raised by lawmakers. The legislation originally called for banning abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected, a move that would prohibit them as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Opponents have said the only way to detect a heartbeat that early is by vaginal probe. Rapert said limiting the test to an abdominal ultrasound would ban abortions as early as 10 to 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

Republican Senator Rapert, I'm 63 years of age, you don't want back alley hangar abortions on your conscience. Take your bill, and dump it, we women have spoken. Thank you, and May God save the babies who are hungry, sick, and cold this evening in the world. A proud grandmother of 6 and one more on the way...

RAPERt is human garbage at BEST. At worst he's a backwards,knuckle dragging racist misogynist . I try to see the best in people but so far the only evidence he's provided proves he's most likely the worst.

Tons of things are not specifically written in the constitution. Where they are written are in Supreme Court rulings which is the arbiter of what the US Constitution means and stands for. Rapert's bill is an overreach in the context of four decades of federal court application of Roe v. Wade. That ruling prohibits state bans on abortion before viability of the fetus.

Ergo, it is unconstitutional.

BTW -- there's nothing in the Constitution about corporations having the same rights as people. But....the Supremes ruled that they do and thus can legally contribute to campaigns as a corporate entity. The list of things like this can go on and on. It requires a much deeper reading into the issues, court rulings, history of cases involved, etc.

Reading the Constitution is good but it's not all that goes into determining what is or is not constitutional. Anyway...one does not have to tell an educated man this is how it works. It would be an insult, wouldn't it?